Upon The Winds Of Change
by InsaniTCK
Summary: The beginning of a scarcely known relationship...and much drama ensues.
1. Chapter 1: Welcome To The Beginning

**Upon The Winds Of Change Pt. 1**

A note to all that this is my first "fan-fiction" done here. If it looks terrible then I do apologize in advance. This is somewhat my original work, it is based off the series of books by Darren Shan, characters anyway. The situations they find themselves getting into is from my own noggin. But you know how fanfics go right? I suggest you read the Cirque Du Freak series because they are a VERY good read. *ahem* Without any further ado...I present my lovely (and I use the term lightly) fanfic.

It was a pain watching over her sometimes. The girl was almost a menace. The only thing that kept her in his care was the fact that the little girl had eyes that closely resembled those of his lover. A vampire in a foul mood is never a good recipe, but that was almost a daily thing for a Larten Crepsley who paced around his trailer at the Cirque Du Freak along with his "daughter" Ciri. He and Arra had gotten into a little bit of a spat back in the past...and somehow it had led them to care for this child. Ciri was half vampire because of a little blood exchange mishap between the mates. Arra always had a maternal side and Larten would have given into anything she asked of him. And so Ciri was now a part of their life.

As he paced, the little girl played on the floor with her dolls. They weren't much, seeing as how the pair had to travel lightly. Anything that kept the little monster occupied however, was always welcomed. Larten was deep in thought when he stumbled over little Ciri, though caught himself on the edge of his coffin.

"You're mother will be home soon...we should clean up your dolls hm?" Larten proposed, crouching down low so that he could speak to her at eye level. For a little "eight" year old, Ciri wasn't naive. She didn't like being talked down to and it was established in her at an early age...but we'll get into that another time.

"Yes father." Ciri hopped up and picked up her dolls and stuffed them into a little satchel she carried with her at ALL times. She never went anywhere without it. Anywhere.

Ciri skipped merrily over to a little vanity mirror Larten had kept in the trailer for her. She was a little girl after all and looks were rather important. The little girl fixed her pale blond ringlets and tightened the bow in her hair. Her dress was full of dainty ruffles and eyelet patterns. She looked angelic...save for the fact that her eyes burned with the color of green flames. They were startling to look at, especially against her creamy skin. No matter, her eyes matched Arra's and that only made Larten love the little girl more. No matter how annoying she was, no matter how much he wanted to strangle her at times, she was still his and he would take care of her.

Larten bent down and scooped little Ciri up into his arms and carried the happily squealing girl out of the trailer. Arra was near, he could feel her. Ciri could too because the little girl wouldn't stop bouncing in his arms. The other members of the Cirque passed by every now and then and nodded to the pair. Larten would smile or nod back in no particular pattern. He was getting anxious now, just a second ago Arra was nearing...but it shouldn't have taken this long to reach them. What was taking her so -

The elder vampire's thoughts were interrupted by a pair of hands finding their way around his head to cover his eyes. The hands were the same temperature as his own, otherwise he would have reacted violently as he was taught to. Fight or flight...Larten was all fight. He recognized the scent and smiled, reaching up to remove the pair of hands that had blinded him. Slowly, Larten turned to see Arra standing there before him. He took her in little by little. Detail for detail. Arra dressed simply, she wore a simple white dress with a corseted bodice. The skirt of the dress flared outward and hugged her every curve. Her body was slender and pale, she had an almost ghostly look to her had it not been for her jet black hair that hung straight down to her waist. And her eyes. Never forget her eyes. The woman had eyes that pierced through you and through the person standing behind you if they were close enough. They were a shockingly bright emerald color that matched that of Ciri's. Had he not known better...he would have thought them to be related.

Larten gently set Ciri down on her feet and stepped forward, his arms wrapping around the waist of his beloved as he pulled the woman closer. Arra laughed a light, melodious laugh as she stood up on the tips of her toes to better kiss her mate. Larten's eyes closed instinctively as Arra's rosy lips touched his. They were as soft as their namesake and were sweeter than the purest honey. He was glad for the fact that he needn't breathe so that he could kiss her for eternity. The male reached up to tangle his fingers into Arra's silken hair, trapping the woman there against his lips. The female's hands unwrapped themselves from Larten and were placed squarely on his chest. She pushed him away with a little force to break their kiss. She did that often just to tease the old vampire. Larten frowned...though smiled quickly afterward.

"I know you have missed me...but don't push your luck love. Wait until we are alone first." Arra winked at her seemingly blushing lover who found himself at a loss for words for once in his unnaturally long life.

"How was your trip my darling? Did you get there safely?" Larten asked, his hand reaching for Arra's who laced her fingers with his.

"It was fine I suppose...nothing special to report." Arra paused for a moment, then her eyes widened. "Oh! Right, I was supposed to tell you that -" Her voice stopped abruptly when the familiar, piercing scream issued through the night. It was a scream of sheer terror. High-pitched and frightening.

Ciri.


	2. Chapter 2: So What's The Good News?

_Through the eyes of Larten Crepsley_

Arra turned to me with fear in her widened eyes. I knew what she was thinking without her having to utter a word. Ciri was in danger and we needed to be there to aid her. I took my beloved's hand and the pair of us flitted off in the direction we'd heard the voice coming in. We had to get there as quickly as inhumanly possible…lest we allow something dreadful to happen to our little girl. My mind kept reeling with images of brutal torture and violence committed upon Ciri. I wanted to hurt someone…someone who deserved hurting. If I allowed myself to be taken in by this feeling however…Arra would be cross with me. Shoving my more violent side away, I tightened my grip on Arra's hand as we came to a rather unceremonious halt. We saw her there…standing alone.

Ciri.

Arra's hand slipped out of mine when we saw what Ciri had screamed about. Before her there was a hulking mass of a thing. I couldn't identify it until I took a half step closer to see that it was merely a spider hanging from its thread, albeit, a rather large spider…but only a spider. Madame Octa was most definitely more frightening than this ordinary little thing. Still, my heart felt as if I had been running on human strength for ages. It mattered not what the thing was, it was simply that she feared it. That little girl would end up being the death of me, and yet, I didn't mind. The little girl gave me a joy in life aside from Arra. Ciri gave me a purpose to _be_ other than to hunt and keep myself alive. I would have to thank her later.

I walked up behind the crying Ciri and laid my hand on her shoulder. Gently, I turned the little girl towards me and pulled her close. I brushed aside a stray strand of hair and tucked it behind her ear. The little girl would need a hair cut soon. Ciri buried her face in my stomach while her little hands bunched themselves into fists in the material of my cloak. As much as she drove me crazy sometimes…the little girl had most definitely grown on me.

"Fear not Ciri…it is merely a spider. It cannot hurt you darling." I spoke softly, calmly, to gently ease her back to a state of calm. Her sobs wracked her little frame to the point where I could not stand to see her like this any longer. I swept her up into my arms and hugged her tightly to my body. Seeing as how she was only half vampire, Ciri still had a bit of warmth about her. It felt as though there was a small flame held against my body, I hoped I wasn't too cold to the touch.

Arra stood by and smiled a beautiful, motherly smile at the two of us standing there. She looked like a wife, looking upon her husband and child with eyes only a mother could have. Her face was alight with such emotion, I wanted to reach out to her, to take her hand. I looked into her eyes and noticed a slight change all of a sudden. It was slight…very miniscule, but I knew her emotions better than she herself did. Slowly, as if time was freezing itself, her eyes turned from those of motherly love…alarm, almost terror. Her mouth slowly opened and everything ceased to move. Was someone playing a cruel trick on me? It was probably something I ate earlier. Members of the Cirque were always doing that to me for some reason.

"Larten watch out!" Arra cried out, surprise written clearly upon her face.

I didn't turn…if I had, then Ciri might have gotten hurt. Instead, I leapt forward, concealing Ciri efficiently in the folds of my cloak. Standing beside Arra, I allowed myself the luxury to turn around and face my attacker. I looked to high at first…the man who stood behind me was shorter than I had anticipated. He wore an odd looking yellow jumpsuit of some kind…it looked rather tacky to my taste. He paired it with some clashing green boots. I looked up further and saw his rather pudgy looking face…his thickly framed glasses…and his shock of whitened hair. It was none other than the dreaded Desmond Tiny. Whenever he was around, there was always trouble ahead. It was only a matter of time before he revealed why he was paying us a visit.

Desmond Tiny…or Des Tiny…or even wittier, Destiny, asked us to accompany him back to the Cirque Du Freak. He spoke with a careless tone of voice, as if he would much rather be somewhere else. Whatever I did to deserve a visit from this one…I apologize sincerely to the Vampire Gods. Arra, being the "sensible" one she had always been, asked him countless questions before allowing him to even set foot on the Cirque grounds. She didn't want the man to be anywhere near her friends and family, even less, around Little Ciri who seemed to be enjoying the conversations passing between the strange, short man, and her mother. I should have stopped Arra, but I must admit, I do so like to see Mr. Tiny lose his composure. Only my Arra could do that to such a notoriously calm man.

After Arra had her fun torturing Mr. Tiny, I finally gave in and escorted the little man to the Cirque. It was a quiet trek back to the campgrounds. No one wanted to say a word. I looked over to Arra who was tense, ready to spring and tear Tiny's throat out at the drop of a pin. I smiled and reached over to her, carrying Ciri in one arm while holding the hand of my lover wit the other. I noticed, as we stood close to the Cirque, that everyone had packed up for the night and had gone to bed. Strange. It was still early, if my internal clock wasn't failing me…which it NEVER did. Mr. Tall had probably told them of their newest arrival. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together knows to disappear as quickly as possible when this sort showed up at our doorstep.

I led _him_ into the trailer I shared with Arra and Ciri. There wasn't a lot of space, but I rather liked it that way. Des Tiny didn't waste any time getting comfortable in our "home". He occupied a chair across from the three of us and eyed us all one by one. We all stayed perfectly silent, aside from Ciri's moving in my arms to get a better look at the stranger of a man sitting in the middle of our trailer. No one said a word for a good ten minutes. Had I been human then, I probably would have throttled him for whatever information he was hiding from us.

"You said you had something to tell us. Would you kindly get on with it? It is very late and we must be putting Ciri to bed now." I spoke tentatively, not wanting to be at odds with Desmond Tiny. I received an ungrateful squeak of disapproval from Ciri, but at this point, I didn't care if she leapt out of my arms and destroyed the place. She was the excuse for Desmond to leave as soon as possible and I would go along with it. The more time I spent in Mr. Tiny's presence, the more it felt like he wanted to eat us all alive.

"Do not rush my fun Larten Crepsley. I haven't yet reached the cracking point. I think I'll give it another minute or two." The little man chuckled, reaching into his coat pocket to produce a heart shaped watch. It had an eerie red glow about it that seemed to radiate out of his body as well…and if I was not mistaken…it looked as if it was truly beating!

"Out with it! I haven't the patience for you right now. Tell us what you know or I shall show you the door." Arra growled.

Mr. Tiny regarded Arra with a careful eye. He looked her up and down, head to toe. He repeated this action a number of times before pointing at her.

"You will die."

Then to me.

"You will die."

Then to Ciri.

"And she will be the cause of your deaths."


End file.
